


Baton-Wielding Con Children

by slytheringurrl



Series: trope_bingo 2013 Entries [2]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Community: trope_bingo, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-27
Updated: 2014-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-06 15:37:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/737319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slytheringurrl/pseuds/slytheringurrl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snippets of Neal and Sara spending time with their future children.  AU. This is a series of multiple drabbles that all connect together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Zoos and Wandering Interests

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sahiya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sahiya/gifts).



> This was written for sahiya's prompt over at wc-women-fest's _The Neal/Sara Thing-a-Thon!_
> 
> Her prompt was: "I would like to know more about Sara and Neal's hypothetical baton-wielding con children (AU's are fine)." 
> 
> This is simultaneously being written for the kidfic card for [trope_bingo](http://trope-bingo.dreamwidth.org) over at Dreamwidth.

Sara pushed her hair out of her eyes, tired of running around.  She knew that children were a hassle, but at times like this, she questioned why she decided to procreate. 

Nick ran over to her, hugging her legs. “Mommy, I want to go see the giraffes,” he cried.

She frowned, “I thought you wanted to see the penguins.  Didn’t you want to feed them?”

“I changed my mind, mommy,” he told her, scrunching up his nose.

"Really," she murmered. 

"Yeah, I want to be as tall as giraffes one day."

"Darling, I think you have a long way to get there," Sara laughed, "You're four years old and three feet tall!"

He looked up at her, surprised, "How many more feet do I have to grow to be as tall as Daddy, then?"

"Well," Sara answered, "your dad is six feet tall, so you only have to grow three more feet."

"That's a lot of feet," Nick sighed. "I want to grow _now."_

"It takes time to grow, sweetheart," Sara sighed. Nick might be in a rush to grow as tall as a giraffe, but she wanted him to stay small for a long time.  She didn't always enjoy chasing him, but she knew that she would miss spending time with her son, dashing after him, as he got older.

 


	2. They Love to Complain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Nick and Carina get sick, it's up to Neal to take care of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carina (4) and Nick (9) are Neal and Sara's children. To fulfill the requirements, I need to write 500 words, hence the additional chapters :) Enjoy!  
> I don't have a beta for White Collar, so obviously, this is un-beta'd. If there are any mistakes, let me know!!!   
> Written for [trope_bingo](http://trope-bingo.dreamwidth.org) on Dreamwidth.

“Dad, I feel sick," Nick groaned from his spot on the couch.

"I know you feel sick," Neal said, walking over to his son, who insisted on complaining about his sudden bout of the stomach flu all day long.

"This is absolutely awful," Nick replied, coughing into his sleeve, "I hate being sick."

Neal nodded, “Go to sleep, Nick.”

Only after a couple of minutes, Nick was knocked out, snoring.

_Thank god, they’re asleep_ , Neal thought, settling into a chair, more than prepared to be alone without his sick children complaining every five seconds.

Just then, Carina walked into the room, wrapped up in her fuzzy blanket, also looking very under the weather.   

"Daddy," she moaned, lifting up her arms, "you didn't stay with me."

Neal bent down, and raised her into his arms, rubbing on her back. "I'm sorry, Carina," he said soothingly, "your brother needed me, too."

"But, _I_  want you."

"Whatever you want, sweetie," whispered Neal, as Carina started to fall asleep in his arms, exhausted from being ill.

Moments later, he could hear the front door opening, indicating that Sara was home from work. 

Sara walked into the living room, setting her bag on the table.

“How were they,” she asked, looking at her daughter.

“Sick,” Neal answered, “and, they _were_ rather annoying.”

“Don’t call our kids annoying!”

“They were annoying,” Neal said matter-of-factly, “Nick wouldn’t stop moaning and Carina wanted me to hold her all day.”

"They're sick kids," Sara told him, "that's how they act."

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “but, I don’t think I want to do it again.  I like my cute children who are happy.”

"I love my happy kids, too," Sara agreed.

They sat quietly until they heard Nick calling, “Dad! Come here!”

Neal groaned, “He’s at it _again_.” 

Sara smirked and pushed her husband towards her son, “Have fun!”


	3. Jealousies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this for lastfanstanding on DW! Enjoy! Carina is a baby and Nick is five in this chapter!

Sara glanced into the cradle. After walking around the living room for over an hour, Carina was finally asleep. Just then Nick ran into the room and screamed, "Mommy, I'm hungry!"  
  
Sara cringed as she awaited the wail that was bound to come out of the cradle. "Honey," she whispered, kneeling next to her young son, "you can't scream when the baby's asleep. It takes her a very long time to fall asleep and you can't wake her up."  
  
"I'm sorry mommy," the five-year old muttered, looking down dejectedly. "I always forget about Carina. Why can't she sleep at night like me? You aren't playing with me anymore because of her," he whined.  
  
Sara wrapped her arms around Nick. She knew that the transition from being an only child to having a baby around would be difficult for him but every time something like this would happen, she would just feel so guilty that Carina was interfering with her son's time with his mom. She loved both her children equally but sometimes, she couldn't help but feel bad for Nick. "Sweetie, babies just sleep a lot and they need their mommies more than a five-year-old does."  
  
"But, I need you too!"  
  
"I know you do," agreed Sara symathetically. "Tell you what - when daddy comes home, we'll tell him to look after Carina and we'll go to Central Park."  
  
Nick grinned. "Are we going to go alone?"  
  
"Yep!" Sara said. "Just you and me. We'll have some Nick and mommy time."  
  
"I can't wait!" Nick announced as he wriggled away from Sara's embrace and ran off.   
  
\---  
  
"Do you think that we made a mistake with having Carina?" Sara asked her husband later as they were lying in bed. "Nick was so upset this afternoon."  
  
Neal frowned. "Of course not! Why, are you regretting it?"  
  
"No," Sara hedged. "I just feel so bad that I haven't gotten to spend any time with Nick lately and he's pretty mad about it. Before the baby, we were always together and I just feel so guilty."  
  
"Don't worry," Neal assured her. "Soon, she'll be old enough and they won't even want you around as they play."  
  
"I guess you're right," Sara agreed hesitantly.


	4. Spoiled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for lastfanstanding. Prompt was "elephant". Enjoy!

"Shit!" Neal cursed under his breath as he rifled through the large designer diaper bag. The little purple elephant that his daughter coveted was missing and seeing that they were pretty far away from New York, he couldn't do damage control either.   
  
Sara rushed into their hotel room, carrying a sobbing Carina with her. "Did you find it?" she asked anxiously.   
  
"Daddy, I want Ellie," Carina whined. "Where's Ellie?"   
  
Neal glanced at his wife and cringed, already scared to see Carina's reaction. She was only two, but she already had him and Sara wrapped around her little fingers. "Sweetie," he said calmly. "I think we left Ellie at home. But don't worry; we'll see her soon when we go home. I'll even get you another stuffed animal from Sea World."  
  
"But, I don't want to go to Sea World anymore," Carina cried. "I want to go home!"  
  
"I'm sorry, but we can't do that."  
  
"Fine," Carina pouted, running out of her mother's arms.   
  
Neal looked at Sara and rolled his eyes. "She is so spoiled," he muttered.  
  
"Yeah and she's all yours," Sara retorted.


	5. Stonehenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neal and Nick get into an argument about Stonehenge, of all things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for lastfanstanding!

"That can't be art though," Nick insisted. At fifteen years old, the boy's passion was to argue with his parents endlessly and now, they were even arguing about the one thing they both loved - art. Picking fights with his son was one thing he didn't want to do while they were on vacation but this battle just had to be fought.   
  
"Why not?" Neal countered. "Stonehenge is definitely a work of art. Nobody knows how it got there and it isn't that bad to look at."  
  
"Dad," Nick sighed. He gestured to the huge rocks in front of him. "They're just rocks stacked up on top of each other."  
  
"But, don't you wonder how they got there?"  
  
Nick shook his head. "After watching two National Geographic movies on Stonehenge in AP World, I've lost all interest in this particular piece of history."


	6. Mother's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick makes his mom a gift and Neal doesn't think too much of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt _writhen_ on lastfanstanding!

He twisted the metal carefully and soon, it was the perfect shape.   
  
"Hey bud. What are you making?" Neal leaned over to see his son's "creation" that he was making out of the lightweight metal that Neal had lying around the workshop.   
  
"A necklace," Nick exclaimed. "It's for Mother's Day. We talked about it in school. I need to make Mommy something and she does wear necklaces everyday."   
  
"Why don't you make her a card?" Neal suggested, trying his hardest not to tell his son that his mother preferred Tiffany's over homemade gifts. "Mommy really loves cards too."  
  
The little blond shook his head. "Nope. Mommy's going to love my gift," he declared.   
  
Neal nodded as he pulled out his phone and started to window-shop for expensive jewelry. Sara loved her quality goods and even though she'd probably not say anything in front of Nick, Neal was positive that she'd never wear the necklace. Plus, she'd be mad if he didn't get her anything.  
  
  
\---  
  
He shouldn't have brought Sara anything. His wife had already worn the (actually decent) necklace Nick had made her twice but the diamond earrings he had bought still sat in their box. Next Mother's Day, he was just going to add his name to whatever Nick came up with.


	7. Injuries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick gets hurt while playing soccer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt, injuries on lastfanstanding!

Nick raced down the field and chased the soccer ball. Sara squeezed her eyes shut as she saw her son bump shoulders with another player.   
  
As she slowly opened her eyes, she heard a scream and she saw Nick - her little baby - lying on the ground, clutching his foot. Around him, his teammates were just realizing that he was injured since they were still celebrating that Nick had scored a goal.  
  
Sara rushed onto the field. "Honey," she cried. "What happened to you?"  
  
"I hit the goalpost really hard as I kicked the ball, Mom. " Nick's face brightened up as he continued, "But, I scored a goal!"  
  
"I know honey," Sara said, smiling gently. "You're also hurt. So, let's take off that shoe and see what happened."  
  
"How are you, Nick?" his soccer coach asked, crouching down next to him. "I would get that looked at, Mrs. Caffrey," he advised.  
  
"Yeah, I think I'll wait it out for today and take him to our pediatrician tomorrow," Sara agreed. "If it's just a small thing, I rather have him comfortable in bed rather than sitting in plastic chairs in the ER at Lenox Hall."  
  
"Good luck and I hope you feel better, Nick."  
  
"I hope so too." The little boy grinned and tried to push himself up with no avail. "Mom, I can't walk."  
  
"I'll carry you," Sara decided. "You'll have to hold my shoes though." She slipped off her trademark heels and lifted up the seven year-old, grunting slightly. Within minutes, mother and son were sitting in a taxi, heading home.  
  
\---  
  
"So, how bad is it?" Sara asked the doctor. "He didn't break anything, right?"  
  
"Well, luckily for him, he didn't break his heel but he did have some major deep bruising along his whole foot, mainly in the heel area. He'll have to walk with crutches until it heals though."  
  
"Thank you so much."  
  
"No problem. Just stay off that foot and everything will be fine."  
  
\---  
  
"Is he okay?" Neal asked worriedly when Nick and Sara walked through the door.   
  
"I'm fine dad," Nick assured his father. "And look, now I get to use crutches. I'm so excited even though I can't play soccer for awhile."  
  
"He's excited?" Neal mouthed to his wife, looking confused. Sara shrugged in response, rolling her eyes.   
  
"Be careful, okay?"   
  
"I'm gonna be fine," Nick said. "Dr. Marshall just said I couldn't walk on it."  
  
"Okay."  
  
\---  
  
"He is going to be okay, right?" Neal asked Sara again, worry seeping into his voice.   
  
"It's just a bruise," Sara assured him. "Kids get hurt and it's just a part of life. Someday, your little girl will probably get hurt too."  
  
Neal exhaled, paling slightly. "Not if I don't let her do anything dangerous."  
  
"Are you going to keep her locked up in a bubble or something?" she joked, laughing slightly.  
  
Neal shrugged. "Seems like a good idea to me."  
  
Sara just shook her head. Even though she loved that Neal was so overprotective of their kids, sometimes it was a little overbearing.


	8. Cranky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little kids can get pretty irritating when they are tired.

"Could you both just stop arguing?" Sara ran her hands through her hair in frustration. Usually, Carina and Nick got along pretty well with each other, but for some reason, they were both in bad moods and they were taking out their anger on each other and driving her crazy in the process.  
  
"Nick took my grape, Mommy!" the five-year old cried.   
  
"Nick," Sara muttered, exhaling through her mouth. "What did I tell you about taking things from your sister?"  
  
"You told me that I shouldn't do it," he replied in a small voice. "But, _she_ was using my markers even though I told her not to and I only took one grape."  
  
Sara held her hands up. "I don’t know what's going on with both of you today but I want it to end. I've also had an extremely long day. Your dad will be home within the hour and then, we'll eat dinner and you both can sleep of this funk. Got it?" she asked, looking at her kids pointedly.   
  
Both children nodded quickly and they both scampered off into their bedroom and once they were gone, Sara breathed out a sigh of relief. She loved her kids, she really did, but sometimes, they were really a hassle. She got up and rummaged around the cabinet until she found a bottle of red. She never drank around the kids, but today could be an exception. Plus, it _was_ only wine.  
  
Twenty mintues later, Neal walked into the apartment to find Sara cooking dinner with some light jazz music playing in the background. "Wow," he said, "the kids actually let you play this?"  
  
"Thank God you're home," Sara said in lieu of a greeting. "Your children have been so cranky today and they're finally in their room." She looked at him wearily. "Can you check on them?"  
  
Neal nodded, sensing his wife's exhaustion. He peeked into the kids' bedroom and was shocked to find Nick and Carina snugged against each other, both gently snoring. He smiled to himself and closed the door quietly.   
  
"They're both asleep," he reported as he walked back into the kitchen.   
  
"Really?" Sara asked. "I think that they were both completely exhausted. They were fighting over the stupidest things earlier."  
  
"All I can say is that I am really glad I wasn't there," Neal admitted.   
  
Sara whacked Neal's arm jokingly. "They weren't that bad!"  
  
"I'm sure they weren't," Neal backtracked. "But, they're much better when they're well-behaved and well-rested."  
"That's definitely true," Sara agreed.


	9. Cheating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for lastfanstanding and the prompt was 'copy and paste'. Enjoy!
> 
> Nick is about 15 or 16 in this one.

Nick sighed and laid his fingers back on the keyboard. Reports were awful things to write and unfortunately for him, he actually had to write this one himself.  
  
 _"You know," Garret, Nick's classmate in AP World History, whispered, "I know a guy who writes papers and sells them. I'll give you his number."_  
  
 _Nick hesitated. If he got caught, he would be so screwed. His mother would flip out and an angry Sara Caffrey was no fun to deal with. But then again, he couldn't just cut and paste the essay because then it wouldn't pass through a plagiarism checker. If someone wrote the essay for him, why would he get caught? "Okay," he finally agreed. "Text me the number."_  
  
\---  
  
 _Mozzie frowned when he saw a familiar number pop up on the screeen of the phone that he only used for his little side business. Neal would murder him if he actually let Nick cheat on a paper. He sighed. He'd have to tell his friend about this._  
  
 _\---_  
  
 _"You write essays for teenagers?" Sara clarified yet again. "Why would you do that?"_  
  
 _"It pays well," Mozzie said, shrugging. "I'm sorry that Nick was doing this."_  
  
 _"How many times has he done this?" Neal demanded._  
  
 _"Never. I figured that you'd want to know the first time."_  
  
 _Neal just shook his head. "Put an end to this, Moz," he said tiredly. "Do something better."_  
  
 _Ten minutes later, Nick was staring at his parents defiantly. "It was just one time!" he yelled._  
  
 _"That's how drug addictions start," Sara muttered. "Everyone says they're only going to do it one time and then it becomes two, then three, then they're addicted to it."_  
  
 _"This is a stupid paper!"_  
  
 _"You're grounded," Neal said sternly. "And, you're writing all your papers in front of us. Cheating is not the way to go. Everyone gets caught, no matter how good they are."_

\---  
  
If only he hadn't listened to that asshole, Garret. He quickly glanced behind him to see his dad engrossed in cooking.  Maybe he could get away with just a _little_ bit of copy and pasting.


	10. Battling Against Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick is fed up with his little shadow, Carina, following him around!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this while watching the Hunger Games so it proabaly has some SPaG issues. Will fix later :)

"You're it!" Nick hollered to his friend and next-door neighbor, Adi, as he ran around the kitchen and Carina struggled to catch up to the two boys.  
  
"Can you not run in the house?" Sara called after them with no avail. Five minutes later, all three of them were still chasing each other.  
  
Then she heard a wail come from other room and she quickly raced into the kids' bedroom to see her little girl sobbing.  
  
"Hey, what happened, sweetie?" she asked. " Did you hurt yourself?"  
  
"Nick won't me play with him," Carina choked out between sobs. "He told me to go away and then, he pushed me!"  
  
Sara let out a sigh. "Why don't you go find Daddy?" she suggested and wiped off the tears dripping down Carina's cheeks. "I'll take care of your brother."  
  
She smiled as Carina ran off and stood up to go find her son, who was going to be in big trouble.   
  
\---  
  
"Nick!" she yelled as soon as Adi had left, "come to the kitchen."  
  
Moments later, he ran into the room with a grin on his face.  "Yeah, mom?"  
  
"What did I tell you about including Carina?" she asked him and immediately, his smile disappeared.    
  
"You told me I had to play with her," he muttered in a small voice.    
  
"And, did you do that?"  
  
He shook his head.  "But mom," he cried, "she's so annoying!  She won't stop following me around and she keeps messing up my toys."  
  
"I know," Sara agreed with a sympathetic look on her face.  "You can't make her cry though.  If she's being irritating, you have to come tell me or your dad, okay?  We'll take care of her."  
  
"Why do _I_ always get in trouble though?" he grumbled angrily.  "You never say anything to her!"  
  
"She's three, honey."  Sara let out a deep breath.  "It's hard to explain things to her but you're old enough to understand.  That's why, sometimes, you get yelled at more."  
  
Nick groaned.  "I wish she'd just grow up already!"


End file.
